SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Feb. 21 (EUROPE PRESS) –
The General Directorate of Security and Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands has made available to the Cabildo de La Palma thirteen recently acquired fixed gas measurement equipment that has been installed in the urban centers that are still evacuated and pending relocation, with the aim of continue to guarantee monitoring and avoid exposing the population to toxic gases.
Said equipment, four beacons and nine sensors, were placed last week, both in open and closed spaces in El Remo and Puerto Naos, in the Llanos de Aridane; La Bombilla (Los Llanos de Aridane and Tazacorte), and the northern area of the Camino José Pons La Jurona, in El Paso. These instruments can be quickly relocated, continuously transmit location data and gas readings.
Surveillance of gases in urban centers that have still been evacuated is necessary to zone those areas and homes that must remain marked with no possibility of access and to identify the farms where access could be progressively accompanied, gas detection equipment and protocol of evacuation.
In addition to continuing to monitor gases and analyze the evolution of values, the installation of this equipment is intended to ensure that the return to homes can be carried out in a controlled and safe manner, continuing with the priority objective set from the start of the emergency of guaranteeing the physical integrity of people.
BEACONS AND SENSORS
The beacons measure, in real time, Oxygen (O2), flammables, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), and have an autonomy of 100 days, gas readings in 10 seconds , cellular connectivity and satellite location. Two of them have been installed in La Bombilla, in an outdoor area, and the other two, in Puerto Naos, one in an outdoor area and another inside a residential building. All of them transmit the data directly to the monitoring software at the Advanced Command Post or Insular Operational Coordination Center (CECOPIN) set up by the Cabildo palmero when taking charge of emergency management.
iSens sensors measure Oxygen (O2) or Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) in real time. Five of them have been installed in Corazoncillo and four in Puerto Naos, inside homes and garages.
The data from the nine sensors is transferred wirelessly to the GasVisor receiving center, which has two signal transmission centers, one in Puerto Naos and the other in Caños de Fuego, in areas with good coverage and visibility towards the sensors placed in Interior spaces. These stations, connected to the Internet, allow monitoring and access to data at all times from the Advanced Command Post or Cecopin.
Throughout the emergency, 44 portable gas detection devices have also been purchased, configured with sensors for Carbon Monoxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Chlorine, Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, flammable gases and Hydrogen Sulfide. This equipment also includes an accelerometer to detect user falls, GPS for positioning and a transmission system via SIM card to the Advanced Command Post or Cecopin.
Likewise, training days have been held on the use, action in case of alarm and maintenance of the equipment, as well as training actions on preventive maintenance of the equipment and on the configuration of the gas data monitoring portal.
The company that supplies this equipment and that has carried out the training, Sensotran SL, has freely provided the self-monitoring function, as well as the ability to transmit voice and calls.
It has also donated 10 portable ‘ClipSens’ oxygen measuring devices, to protect the people involved who access the areas affected by gases, as well as an infrared port Sensotran IR LInk for downloading data and configuration of the teams. All this has been made available to the Cabildo de La Palma, the administration currently in charge of managing the emergency.
